The Mormon cricket has taken over the town of Murphy, Idaho, and residents said it's not the first time it's happened.

Mary O'Malley, a resident of Murphy, said the crickets came through the town seven years ago. In the past, residents used a pesticide as bait to get rid of the monster crickets.

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"I threw the bait out, which was pellets, and they came out of the trees, out of the rose bushes, ate the bait, and then they eat one another cause they're cannibalistic and died in droves," O'Malley said.

The only problem this time is that the bugs caught the town off guard, and they don't have any bait.

"Had we known this was happening, we probably could've bought bait," O'Malley said. "But the nearest place, of course, to buy anything like that is 30 miles away, and the crickets don't hurt people at all. Don't carry diseases, don't bite. They just look bad."

Meanwhile, the village of Murphy is preparing for Outpost Days, which celebrates the history of Owyhee County. The celebration marks the biggest fundraiser of the year for the museum.

Residents hope the bugs don't deter any visitors.

"We're not too worried about them," resident Debra Lidner said. "They don't seem to be moving in too fast on us. We are working on cleaning up after them and stuff so we'll be ready.

We hope it doesn't discourage people from coming out cause I really don't think it's going to be a big problem."